The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society (Civilization of the American Indian) [Paperback]

Royal B. Hassrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1988 | Series: Civilization of the American Indian (Book 72)

For many people the Sioux, as warriors and as buffalo hunters, have become the symbol of all that is Indian colorful figures endowed with great fortitude and powerful vision. They were the heroes of the Great Plains, and they were the villains, too.

Royal B. Hassrick here attempts to describe the ways of the people, the patterns of their behavior, and the concepts of their imagination. Uniquely, he has approached the subject from the Sioux's own point of view, giving their own interpretation of their world in the era of its greatest vigor and renown –the brief span of years from about 1830 to 1870.

In addition to printed sources, the author has drawn from the observation and records of a number of Sioux who were still living when this book was projected, and were anxious to serve as links to the vanished world of their forebears.

Because it is true that men become in great measure what they think and want themselves to be, it is important to gain this insight into Sioux thought of a century ago. Apparently, the most significant theme in their universe was that man was a minute but integral part of that universe. The dual themes of self-expression and self-denial reached through their lives, helping to explain their utter defeat soon after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. When the opportunity to resolve the conflict with the white man in their own way was lost, their very reason for living was lost, too.

 There are chapters on the family and the sexes, fun, the scheme of war, production, the structure of the nation, the way to status, and other aspects of Sioux life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Royal B. Hassrick, who presently makes his home in Elizabeth, Colorado, received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College and did advanced study at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of a number of books on Indians and Indian art.

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806121408
• ISBN-13: 978-0806121406
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Sioux (Reviewed by Don Larson), June 13, 2000

By 

Donald W. Larson (San Marcos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society (Civilization of the American Indian) (Paperback)

I found this book at an Indian Store in Escondido, California while attending a Pow Wow there in May 2000.

I have been a follower of Red Cloud for over twenty years now and feel a great affinity for the Sioux Indians for some reason.

My previous thoughts about what is was like to be a Sioux member were badly mistaken. This book takes the time to lay out the fundamental aspects of this tribe's, history, land movements, and cultural elements.

The cultural elements include their beliefs and are quite profound. Descriptions are given to how an individual is treated as an infant, young child, young adult, and adult. The distinctions between male and female roles are explained fully.

By the reading and absorption of the book's various chapters, I now have a much better appreciation for the difficulties the Sioux population experienced preceding the 20th Century.

Anyone who truly desires to understand one of the most powerful Plains Indians tribes should read this book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on the Sioux, October 4, 2007

By 

John M. Lane "statesman and philosopher" (Hardin, Montana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society (Civilization of the American Indian) (Paperback)

I have an old copy of Royal B. Hassrick's book, THE SIOUX: LIFE AND CUSTOMS OF A WARRIOR SOCIETY. I got it in a bookstore in Denver in 1972. It's the best book book on the Sioux I've ever read.

It's carefully researched, scholarly and it concentrates on the period from the 1830s to the 1870s, the period when the Sioux were the dominant force on the Plains. These are the Sioux who are still the archetypical Plains Indians.

When some Frenchman thinks of "Plains Indians", he's probably got the Sioux in mind. Even other Plains Indians try to co-opt the look for themselves.

If you are the least bit interested in Plains Indians, the Sioux, or any of the more famous bands like the Lakota or Teton Sioux, you MUST HAVE this book. I have a good collection of books on Plains Indians and I've lived and worked on a Sioux reservation in western South Dakota. If I could only keep one book about Plains Indians, it would be Hassrick's.

It's old and scholarly in tone, but it's that good. It hearkens back to a time when "Indian Studies" still meant something. Loudmouth wannabees like Ward Churchill weren't tolerated on faculties and academic achievement was still held in high esteem.

I gave this book five stars. If I could, I'd give it ten.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE CIVILIZATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN SERIES, April 20, 2011

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society (Civilization of the American Indian) (Paperback)

As this study quickly points out when one considers the 'Sioux' generally that has come to mean "the Tetons, the dashing buffalo hunters of the plains." Yet as the author points out they were members of the Seven Councils or Seven Sioux divisions.

This study dates from the year 1964 when the word 'Sioux' was in common usage for these peoples so the book uses that descriptive too. Today it is more common to describe these interesting peoples as Lakota. Though dialectic differences allowed them to be known as Lakota, Dakota and Nakota. Some of this does seem confusing at times but Professor Hasrick does his best to sort it out for us. Giving insight into many aspects of their culture the book is truly informative.

In 353 pages this book is still one of best to allow insight into these buffalo hunting tribes of the plains. Bolstered by maps, diagrams, and photographs their individual histories come to light. The contents of the book is shown below:

Introduction
Part One-Rank and order

Chapter 1 The Structure of the Nation
Chapter 2 Morals, Modes, and Manners
Part Two-The Warriors
Chapter 3-Ethnocentrism
Chapter 4-The Scheme of War

Part Three-Familiarity and Respect

Chapter 5-The Family
Chapter 6-The Sexes
Chapter 7-Fun

Part Four-The Predators

Chapter 8-Nomadism
Chapter 9-The Predators
Chapter 10-Production

Part Five-Self Sacrifice

Chapter 11-The Universe and the Controllers
Chapter 12-The Vision Quest
Chapter 13-The Way to Status
Chapter 14-The Individual and the Sioux Way
Chapter 15-Epilogue
Appendix A-Iron Shell's Winter Count
Appendix B-Familiar Terms and their use.
Bibliography
Index

So there you have it, a book that after all the years will still lay down the basic constructs of what comprised the Lakota Indians. After picking this up at a local library back in 1965, I became so impressed with it that I wanted to have a copy of my own. Through the years I've purchase others as well (most recent: The Lakotas and The Black Hills, 978-0-670-021956), this is the main stay of my study. A reader can not do better than any of the books from The University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, series of The Civilization of the American Indian. The Sioux by Royal B. Hassrick is one of those many volumes.

Semper Fi.